The Perils of Reform

There
have always been good people working to improve our criminal justice system so
that it saves and improves lives instead of damaging or destroying them.

It’s
a tough challenge because people entangled with criminal justice are often
already damaged human beings who don’t inspire a lot of public sympathy.

But
Milwaukee County is fortunate right now to have public officials and key
criminal justice leaders in place who are serious about improving the system.

Full
disclosure: I know this because my wife, Kit Murphy McNally, after heading a
nonprofit agency working for criminal justice reform, serves as the public
representative on the executive committee of the Milwaukee County Community
Justice Council.

The
council has strongly supported efforts by Chisholm, the current chairman, to
defer prosecution of nonviolent offenders, particularly those addicted to drugs
or alcohol whose lives can be changed through treatment.

For
people of means, addiction is correctly treated as a health issue with access
to treatment, counseling and rehabilitation services. For the poor, addiction
is the leading nonviolent criminal offense responsible for the
over-incarceration of people of color.

Anyone
who’s ever known someone addicted to drugs or alcohol—and who hasn’t these
days?—knows how hard it is to break the cycle of addiction. That’s why
well-designed treatment programs don’t just send someone to therapy and hope
for the best.

One
of the most effective innovations under Chisholm and Kremers has been the
creation of a drug treatment court.

It
combines the hammer of possible incarceration with intense supervision by a
judge and twice weekly drug tests, counseling and weekly court appearances to
monitor participation and progress in treatment.

Treatment,
Not Jail, Helps Addicts

But
no matter how many thousands of distraught families are helped when loved ones
successfully overcome addiction, political support for treatment programs can
be imperiled by a single, sensationalized failure.

Cassandra
Lutz, a young woman in her 20s who died of a heroin overdose six months ago,
wasn’t part of a court-ordered drug treatment program. But Jeremiah Schroeder,
the man accused of supplying her with the heroin, was.

Hearts
can only go out to any family that has experienced the anguish of watching
drugs slowly destroy their child’s life. The anger they feel about her death is
understandable.

But
somehow the family’s anger has been directed toward the drug treatment
Schroeder was receiving under court supervision.

The
way Lutz’s family looks at it—and the media are only too happy to publicize—if
Schroeder had been incarcerated on an earlier drug charge instead of being
offered drug treatment, he wouldn’t have been around to supply the girl with
the drug prosecutors say killed her.

Of
course, when addicts are looking for drugs, it’s not difficult to find someone
else to provide them. But there’s no reason to argue with a grieving family.

The
important thing is not to let anyone exploit a tenuously connected tragedy to
derail an extremely valuable community program that is making a positive
difference in the lives of people just like Lutz and Schroeder.

Schroeder’s
history shows the program worked as it was supposed to. Last November,
Schroeder pleaded guilty to drug charges and began an 18-month deferred
prosecution program under intense judicial supervision.

Early
in the program, Schroeder missed appointments and failed drug tests. He was
punished with jail twice, including the entire month of January. Since Feb. 1,
he made all his court appearances and counseling sessions and passed 10
consecutive drug tests.

In
fact, Schroeder passed a drug test on March 6 before meeting up with Lutz at a
concert that night. It was at a party afterward with Schroeder and others Lutz
used the heroin that killed her.

Schroeder
didn’t get away with anything. His deferred prosecution was revoked and he’s
already serving 1½ years in prison on his original drug charge. Now he’s also
been charged with reckless homicide in Lutz’s death, which carries a maximum
sentence of 50 years.

We
already know incarceration does little to improve the lives of drug addicts.
It’s easier to get drugs in prison than drug treatment.

Offenders
emerge from prison with more problems than they had before, including a prison
record that often prevents them from getting legitimate employment or safe housing.

It’s
important to stand behind public officials and leaders with the political
courage to create programs that have a chance of improving lives in our
community.

Closely
monitored drug treatment under court supervision continues to save lives. It might
even have saved Lutz’s life if she’d been fortunate enough to be part of it.

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Joel McNally is a national-award-winning newspaper columnist and a longtime political commentator on Milwaukee radio and television. Since 1997, Joel has written a column for the Shepherd Express where he also was editor for two years.

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